Infectors and Collectors
by RobynRedDress
Summary: From frozen fjords to blistering badlands, humanity is haunted by an unalterable infection. Those unfortunate enough to be infected undergo monstrous transformations. Anna has spent years yearning to become a Collector, but her fearful fascination with her partner threatens her safety, and that of the world when she discovers a horrible plot to end mankind. Au, REWRITING.


The cold wind bit through Anna's cloak, the gust of wind signaling the approaching blizzard. A crisp layer of snow already blanketed the town ahead of them.

"We better stay in this town until the blizzard passes." A feminine voice said behind her.

"We can make it through." The male rider in front of her said. " _I'm_ the experienced one, Elsa."

"Then you and Oliver can go on, Anna and I will stay here." She said curtly.

Another man burst out of the woods on his horse, wearing the same black clothing as the three. He wheeled his horse to the front of their group, slowing them from a trot to a halt.

"Oliver." The man said, "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Yes. You will want to follow her advice and stay in this town." He flashed a smile at Elsa, "It is Ydinule Festiva after all." He swung his horse around, and disappeared back into the forest. They followed his trail through the thick pine trees, the only way to tell their way the path through the snow that scout had made previously.

"There." He said, pointing his hands to the east. Anna and the other two riders dismounted their horses, and walked towards the area the rider had pointed. Anna fell in line behind the woman, noticing how Elsa still walked so gracefully despite the bulky black cloak she wore and the slippery ground they walked on. The three stopped, and the man squatted on the ground next to large tracks deep in the snow.

 _Wolf?_ Anna thought, _but so large, and alone…_

"These are simply wolf tracks, Oliver." The man called back to his companion, rising and dusting snow off of his black trousers.

"Except it has bipedal step. Look at the pacing." Elsa said. Her skin was still a perfect ivory, nothing like the cherry red cheeks that the men had, chapped from the cold.

"Do you think…?" Anna piped up, following the tracks with her eyes as they stalked closer to where the village lay below.

The man and Elsa exchanged glares, then he piped up, "As the de facto leader of this group, I have decided that we should stay in the town. With the incoming blizzard and this new possibility, it is our duty to protect the people of this town."

Elsa sighed, then strode away to mount her horse. Anna followed suit.

 _Man, they hate each other._ Anna had learned very quickly at the beginning of this journey to keep her mouth shut around Igor. Oliver was nicer, and he was funny. As far as Elsa goes… well, that was a whole other matter.

The only rooms available were at the most run down tavern in town, which was to be expected since it was the Ydinule holiday, the most important holiday of the year. Ydinule occurred on every winter solstice, honoring the king god Ydin's defeat of his evil father and his salvation of humanity. People from smaller villages would travel to this town, to be close to nearest castle, Castle Kronsteinn, aside from the palace in Arendelle. So, naturally, they were lucky to even find a room. This room had a single bed, and Anna was getting nervous at the idea of sharing it with Elsa.

 _I can barely even be in the same room as her, let alone the same bed!_ Anna thought.

Anna shouldn't have felt weird about sharing a room with Elsa, but being partners with Elsa at all was still foreign to Anna. Elsa was a legend among Collectors, being one of the few to successfully capture and eliminate the Infected without help of a partner. Anna had been shocked as everyone else when Elsa had chosen her to be her partner. Everyone else thought it was out of pity, since no one had expressed any interest in Anna once she was a fully trained Collector. She wasn't shocked to be picked by Elsa, she was shocked that Elsa had left her alive. Anna knew Elsa's secret.

 _Oh no, Anna thought, I'm going to be so late. Father Kai will stick me in the kitchens for the rest of my life. Yep. Anna, the kitchen maid. I'd probably burn water._

 _Anna burst through the door on her left. She had made sure to memorize the directions before coming. Take a left at the altar room, through the portrait room, first door on your left. Or was it the right?_

 _Crack! Anna stopped in her tracks, in just enough time to not be impaled by a shard of ice, and a pair of horrified blue eyes staring at her._

" _Sorry, wrong floor." Anna said, gazing at the clear snow falling from the ceiling, dancing in a frozen song. She thought it was beautiful._

"You're very quiet."

"Oh, you know," she said "just lost in thoughts. Just you know, thinking, a lot."

Elsa chuckled, "Well, don't think too hard. I can see the steam coming out of your ears."

Anna touched her ears, checking if there really was steam and Elsa frowned.

"Oh, I get it." She felt embarrassed, she was always tripping over herself around Elsa. She shuffled her feet. "I'm going to go downstairs, check out the scene ya know? Would you, I don't know, like to go with me?"

Elsa didn't answer her, instead turning away from her to unpack her traveling bag. Once Anna exited the room, she smacked her forehead and groaned. "Real smooth Anna," she said to herself.

Anna surveyed the room in the dusty light cast from the torches hanging from the ceiling, trying to look casual. She had taken the time to change out of her black traveling clothes into a dress that conformed more with the townspeople's attire, a simple blue dress with embroidered flowers. She had her dagger hidden in her boot, just in case.

She had read about many of the strange rituals some people would do the ward off the Infected, but this was by far the weirdest. There were several arches painted on the walls in goat's blood, representing the god Ydin, who they believed would protect them. The arches were a symbol of the rainbow, which the god would send after snowstorms. The stench of iron and malt stung her nostrils, and it made her stomach turn. The townspeople in the tavern were jolly, and a raucous band played bouncy music. Anna wished she could join them, but she figured Elsa would scold her for getting drunk and dancing with any man that came her way.

"You a wallflower too?" a man slouched against the wall next to her. "I'm Kristoff." He held out his hand.

"I'm Anna," She shook his hand.

"Are you new here?"

"Yeah, fresh in town. Just, ya know, hanging out. Enjoying the celebration. Being normal."

"Oh kay? …I run an ice business around here. So if you're in need, come to Kristoff's Ice Emporium, right outside of the village." He turned to walk away.

"Hey! Wait."

"What?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"So, you're just going to throw your sales pitch at not stay and talk to me?" Anna crossed her arms.

"No, I mean, kind of." He said, rubbing his neck. A few awkward moments passed.

"Say, have you seen anything fishy around here? People out of place, wolves walking on two legs?"

Kristoff gave her a strange look. "No" he said, "Look, I better go. Lots of ice to harvest. Busy night."

Anna grabbed his arm, "There's something you're not telling me."

"Look, it's kind of taboo to talk about it."

"It's my job to know."

He wrinkled his nose, and looked her up and down. "Oh, you're one of _them._ "

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Look, I'll tell you if you'll leave me alone."

Anna nodded her head.

"Okay, there was this guy named Valentin. He was a butcher, wife and kids, nice guy. Then one day he disappeared, like a lot of people have been lately. He comes back one day, going on and on about all kinds of crazy things. Later that night, he turned into this horrible monster, killed his wife and kids and a few other people. The townies drove him out. Haven't heard of him since. They believe he was a curse from Ydin or something, but I know better. I know he was an Infector. The townies don't want to believe in them, but I do."

"What do you mean people have been disappearing?"

"Look, I can't talk anymore about it. I'm getting the heebee jeebies over here."

"Thanks for telling me. Really. Want a drink? I can get ya a beer!" Anna noticed Elsa walking towards them. "Oh, hey Elsa. This is Kristoff."

Kristoff glanced at Elsa. "No, I don't drink. I better go." He left through the wooden doors, an icy blast of air sneaking through.

Elsa had changed from the black traveling clothes into more normal attire. Part of the job of being a Collector was people not being able to guess who you were. Collectors showing up in any town would usually cause panic, if there were any people left in the town after an Infector had been through.

"You know," Elsa said, "it's not usually protocol to flirt with villagers."

"I wasn't! I actually got something you might want to know about."

Elsa raised her eyebrow, and Anna recounted to her what Kristoff had told her. "So, I think I know who, not what, made those tracks we saw."

Elsa sighed, and stood next to Anna, gazing at the crowd. A few minutes passed in silence.

"Do you want to dance?" She blurted.

"What?" Anna said, _Elsa, asking me to dance?_

"Forget it." Elsa shifted away from Anna.

"No, I want on, we have to blend in right? What's more out of place than two girls sitting alone not dancing? On Ydinule of all days." Anna gave her best puppy dog face, hoping to come across as cute instead of creepy.

"Fine, fine. If you stop making that face." Elsa said.

They got up from the table, and went to join in the middle of the mass of people dancing. Elsa looked at Anna, shuffling her hands. Anna took a deep breath, took Elsa's hands and started dancing in a circle to the music. Elsa was a fantastic dancer, and Anna wondered if she had formal training. After a few songs, Elsa stopped keeping Anna at such a stiff's arms distance, boldly grabbing Anna by the waist a swinging her around to the jolly beat. Anna couldn't stop herself from noticing what Elsa smelled like, or how the light glinted off of her hair and made it look like small diamonds were encrusted in it. Anna forgot about everyone else around her as Elsa smiled and laughed, and stopped noticing when the songs changed. Anna had never seen this side of Elsa before. With one last flourish, Elsa spun her in a circle and led her off the dance floor, laughing when Anna tripped over her shoe lace and Elsa had to catch her.

"Elsa, dancing? I never thought I'd even see you smile." Oliver said.

Elsa's smile fell into a scowl, and Anna's heart instantly fell as she saw the blank expression Elsa usually wore cross her face, "I'm trying to be undercover, Oliver. Not attract attention."

"You're too beautiful to not attract attention."

Elsa blushed, and it made Anna feel odd. Anna heard a wolf's howl far away. Suddenly, she felt uneasy.

"Too bad you're not." Elsa retorted, avoiding looking at Anna, like always. The howl sounded closer this time.

"Whoa," Oliver threw his hands in the air playfully, "a man doesn't have to be beautiful to get the ladies attention."

Elsa opened her mouth to reply, but Anna grabbed her wrist. "Do you hear that?"

The three stopped talking, listening. The howl was closer, just outside of town if Anna had to guess.

"Go get Igor, we better go see if that's our target." Elsa said.

The town was stuffed with people coming in from the surrounding villages. Even though they were dressed to blend in to the crowd, they kept their weapons hidden under their cloaks, or slid into their boots. There was no special way to kill an Infector, but they were extremely vicious and so the average person stood no chance. Collectors were trained in combat from the moment they were given up to the church. The four of them snaked through the crowd, looking all around them. Anna started to get nervous, this would be her first time seeing an Infector in the flesh.

"What the hell do you mean you won't sell me that!?" A man's voice lifted over the sounds of the crowd.

Igor, Oliver, and Elsa continued through the crowd, but something about the voice made her stop. She drifted towards the source, shifting her way through the mass of people. She could smell the candy at the cart where the man was yelling. Anna noticed as she slowly stalked closer that his clothes were dirty, and he looked as if he hadn't eaten in days.

"I don't take money from you, you dirty dog! I haven't forgotten the way you stole my daughter's virtue and then didn't marry her!"

"Dirty dog, huh?" the man laughed, "I'll show you a dog…"

He backed away from the food cart, keeping eye contact with the merchant. He hunched forward, letting out a loud grunt. His skin began to tear away from his body, revealing fur underneath. He grew in stature to about 10 feet tall. The beast lurched forward, ripping apart the merchant's cart. The merchant fell back from the force, scrambling to get away. The surrounding townspeople screamed, running away.

From the left side, a flash of black appeared between the merchant and the beast. Oliver had drawn his golden sword, a special alloy just for Infectors that could change its size, and rushed forward towards the huge creature, only to be smacked away into a wooden post. His body crumpled into the snow, still. Anna shook her head, forcing her legs to move forward, and drew her dagger from her boot. It extended into a full length sword, glowing gold against the snowy atmosphere. Another flash of black came from the side, zooming through the air with legs extended, crashing into the Infector and knocking it off its feet. Elsa flipped over after kicking the Infector, landing gracefully on its other side, then rushing forward with her sword. Anna came behind the Infector, keeping him between her and the rest of the town. The Infector rose from the ground grunting, then turned to keep Elsa and Anna in front of him. Snow began to fall rapidly. The Infector looked between Elsa and Anna, and she shivered when she made eye contact with its yellow eyes. Saliva dripped from its open mouth.

A child's scream broke the thin silence. A boy was standing behind the wolfman, hidden under the rubble of the cart.

"Richard!" the merchant screamed from behind Anna. The beast turned slowly, its huge chest shaking with laughter. "No!"

The beast leapt towards the boy, and Anna leapt towards the beast, laying her body on top of the boy. Time slowed and she could see its immense muscles flex as it moved slowly closer to her, the moonlight dripping off of its brown fur. Anna couldn't move, seeing the beasts from her school books brought to life shook her to her very core. All she do was wrap herself around the boy, and pray. Its yellow eyes gazing hungrily into hers, the full moon shining on its long teeth.

 _Shoom! Crack!_

Anna had closed her eyes, but death never came. She felt the boy leave her arms as she opened her eyes. The wolfman was laying crumpled on the ground. It rose and tried crawling closer to them, its fur turning white and its skin turning blue. The wolfman turned into a frozen statue. Snow began to fall more rapidly, and the wind picked up.

"You _moron._ " Elsa's voice stabbed her. Elsa's tall boots made heavy smacks on the earth as she angrily strutted towards Anna. Her voice lowered to a whisper, and she roughly grabbed Anna's arm. "We need to leave, now. Before what I did is discovered."

"You could have just let me die and save yourself all the trouble."

An expression Anna couldn't read flashed over Elsa's face.

"My son!" the merchant said, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"The monster, daddy, look! He's frozen." The boy said, pointing to the beast. Townspeople began to gather around, staring at the beast frozen in its attack.

"How could this have happened?"

"What is going on?"

"Is this sorcery?"

The crowd was murmuring, and Elsa was starting to back away slowly, fear creeping up her features.

"Ydinule!" Anna yelled, thinking quickly. Several of the townspeople turned to stare at her. "Our great Lord Ydinule performed this miracle tonight. He killed this beast with his mighty ice powers, redeeming our town from the curse He sent to us. We have been forgiven."

"Hail, Ydin! Hail! Hail!" The people of the town chanted, as snow began to fall even faster. The blizzard had come.

 _Kristoff's Ice Emporium_ was written in sloppy paint on a wooden sign hung on a fence. Anna wasn't sure if he would be here, since the blizzard Elsa had predicted had begun. Elsa was furious with Anna, so Anna decided to go try to find her friend from the bar, at least just to get out of that tavern. Anna might even ask Kristoff if he had a spare place she could sleep, there was no way she could share a room with Elsa. She refused to apologize, because she had done nothing wrong. She couldn't help the feelings of guilt that kept creeping up.

"Kristoff?" she called. She walked through the gate, looking around. She noticed that the snow on the ground was very mushed and scrambled, and she suddenly had the feeling she was being watched. She remembered what Kristoff had said back at the tavern.

 _Then one day he disappeared, like a lot of people have been lately._

Anna knelt down, ruffling the snow. Just under the fresh layer that had fallen, the snow was drenched in blood.


End file.
